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Mathayom 6 graduates killed in Phuket hit-and-run
PHUKET: Police are hunting for the driver who killed two teenagers in a hit-and-run crime in Phuket last night. Piyabut Thongngarm, 18, died at the scene, while Jenista Purisawane, 18, died en route to hospital, Capt Thada Sodarak of the Chalong Police said. “It was raining when we arrived at the scene, near the Rawai shell museum. It was clear…
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Phuket sea gypsies offered free land in relocation deal
PHUKET: The provincial government has organized 50rai of land for the sea gypsy families living on Koh Sireh who are being sued by a private developer for allegedly squatting on private land. “Other sea gypsy families are living in houses allegedly built on private land, but have yet to face legal action,” explained Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa at a…
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West Ham United FC Academy to train Phuket youths
PHUKET: Having trained English Premier League stars Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard Jr, West Ham Academy’s coaches are coming to Phuket to do what they do best – teach others to play at the top of their game. The Elite Residential Soccer Course Phuket 2014, organized by the Bangkok Soccer School and featuring West Ham United FC Academy…
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Phuket officials vote to halt dredging of marina canal
PHUKET: The dredging of the Koh Kaew Canal, which provides access to two key marinas on the east coast of Phuket, has stopped due to environmental concerns. Sasorn Sassadeekul of the Marine Office Region 5 headquarters in Phuket agreed to halt the dredging of the canal at the request of Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak at a meeting at Provincial…
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Thai visa-van ban at Malaysian border not part of recent crackdown
PHUKET: The blockade preventing Thai visa-run vans from entering Malaysia on their way to Penang is not linked to the recent crackdown on visa runs in Thailand, confirmed a KBV Phuket Visa Run staffer. “Thai visa-run drivers and vehicles have not been allowed to cross the Malaysian border for more than a week now due to a small protest of…
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Wanted: Phuket home for Chinese Consulate
PHUKET: Unable to find a suitable property for the new Chinese Consulate in Phuket, officials from the Chinese embassy sought advice from Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa on Thursday. “We will certainly have a consulate in Phuket, and it will be open as soon as possible,” said Vice-Consul Wang Huijian, who will head the new consular office. “We have four…
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Jungceylon Patong sees first quarter spike in clients
PHUKET: Jungceylon Patong has announced a 20 per cent increase in clients for the first quarter this year over its figures during the same period in 2013. The increase has resulted in the daily averages at the Phuket shopping mall jumping from 45,000 – 50,000 visitors a day to 50,000 – 55,000, explained Chief Executive Officer of Jungceylon Patong Phuket…
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Serial sunscreen shoplifter snagged in sunny Phuket
PHUKET: A sunscreen shoplifter was arrested with over 20 bottles of the lotion by Phuket Police yesterday afternoon. Daoruang Budda, 31, was identified by police from CCTV footage at a Family Mart convenience store in Patong. “After we got the description out, one of our officers spotted her riding a motorbike in Patong. We followed and approached her at the…
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Mayor to tackle Patong corruption
Chalermluck Kebsup, 50, was voted in as Patong Mayor in the polls on April 26 (story here). She has a master’s degree in political science from Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University and was Phuket Member of Parliament for 10 years, from 2001 to 2010. She is also a Patong native and a prominent businesswoman. Ms Chalermluck has also received the state…
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Save the living dead: put down the smartphones
PHUKET: Having recently become addicted to the American TV show The Walking Dead, where the survivors of a zombie-virus plague battle for survival in the post-apocalyptic landscape of America, I couldn’t help but think about a more insidious zombie plague that is slowly taking over the world. The zombies are all around us, everywhere… they could be your best friend,…
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Balancing good and bad in a digital age
PHUKET: There is an apocryphal “curse” attributed to the ancient Chinese that is typically rendered as: “May you live in interesting times”. While its origins are sketchy at best, its popularity appears to be growing in this new era of digital information overload. The days of a popular culture developed through a limited mainstream media are long gone. Content consumers…
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Tourist visa runs are not dead: Immigration boss
PHUKET: Tourists who can prove that they are genuinely staying only short-term while travelling in Thailand will be allowed to leave on “visa-runs” and re-enter the country, Immigration Commissioner Pharnu Kerdlarpphon confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. “Genuine tourists are fine. All they have to do is prove to the immigration officer at the border checkpoint that they really are tourists…
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Interpol, Russia notified of Phuket murder-kidnap suspects
PHUKET: Police have notified Interpol and the Russian authorities to be on the lookout for the two men wanted for the murder and kidnapping of Russian national Alexey Slabinskiy in Phuket in March. Prime suspects Oleksandr Boychuk, 44, and Aleksandr Novichkov, 58, both Russian nationals, are now believed to have fled Thailand by boat. “We have not been able to…
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Phuket TOT internet outages are over, but hiccups to continue
PHUKET: Staff at TOT Phuket have confirmed that a broken fiber-optic cable in Nakhon Sri Thammarat has been repaired, restoring internet access for thousands of TOT customers throughout Southern Thailand. The cable went down at 10am on Wednesday, Wiraporn Kumied, a technician at TOT Phuket, told the Phuket Gazette.“We were inundated with calls from customers in Phuket who could not…
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Thailand News: Army warns may use full force; Quake villagers still in fear; Thai Mers cases under watch
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Army warns it will use ‘full force’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The mounting death toll of anti-government protesters has triggered the Army’s strongest reaction, saying it may need to resort to “full military force” if the bloodshed continues. “I want to warn every group,…
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Brazilians protest World Cup spending, call for better services
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Brazilians protest World Cup spending, call for better services Reuters/ Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Road blocks and marches hit Brazilian cities on Thursday as disparate groups criticized spending on the upcoming World Cup soccer tournament and sought to revive a call for better public services that swept…
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Phuket Tourist Police in fender bender on slippery road
PHUKET: A Tourist Police officer injured his back and damaged a tuk-tuk and two other cars when he lost control of his patrol car on a wet Thepkrasattri Road on Tuesday night. Local residents notified authorities of the accident near Baan Sapam Mongol Wittaya School at about 9pm. “When we arrived at the scene we saw a damaged white Toyota…
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Turkey in mourning after 274 die in mine disaster
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Furious Turks heckle Erdogan after at least 274 die in mine disaster Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Furious Turks heckled Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and jostled his entourage on Wednesday as protests erupted in several cities over a coal mine disaster in which at least 274…
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Father’s funeral for newborn son brings Patong traffic to a halt
PHUKET: Patong suffered a short traffic jam yesterday afternoon as the grieving man who lost his wife and newborn son earlier this month led a traditional funeral parade through the city streets. “I would like to apologize to everyone for the traffic problems. I had no intention to close the road, only to lead a funeral parade through Patong as…
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Bomb attacks force suspension of Deep South train services
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bomb attacks force suspension of train services The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Fourteen local trains were forced to suspend services for three days after insurgents bombed the southern railway track in Narathiwat’s Joh I Rong and Rangae districts yesterday. Nobody was harmed in the bombings.…
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Acting PM flees election meeting after venue stormed by protesters
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Acting PM flees eleciton meeting after venue stormed by protesters The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Suthep Thaugsuban, secretary general of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee, led protesters to besiege the venue where the Election Commission and the government were due to meet, prompting it to…
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More than 20 dead as anti-China riots spread in Vietnam
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community More than 20 dead as anti-China riots spread in Vietnam Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: More than 20 people were killed and rioters attacked Vietnam’s biggest steel plant overnight as violent anti-China protests spread to the centre of the country a day after arson and looting…
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Army has no plans to crack down on red shirts, says King’s Guard chief
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community No plans to crack down on red shirts: King’s Guard chief The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: the Army’s First Division, King’s guard chief Maj Gen Apirat Kongsompong yesterday denied setting up a taskforce in preparation for a crackdown on red-shirt protesters. This was in response…
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Fingerprint scans to debut at Immigration to catch known criminals
PHUKET: Thai Immigration aims to begin scanning fingerprints of all foreigners arriving in the Kingdom by the end of the year under a project costing 342 million baht. “The budget has yet to be approved, but we hope to introduce fingerprint-scanning machines by the end of 2014,” Immigration Commissioner Pharnu Kerdlarpphon confirmed to the Phuket Gazette yesterday. The scanners, to…
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Bangkok protesters killed, 22 injured in grenade, gun attack
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Two killed, 22 others injured in grenade, gun attack at Democracy Monument The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Two people were fatally shot and 22 others were injured when assailants on a pick-up truck fired an M79 grenade at anti-government protesters and fired at guards of…
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Fire ravages Phuket workers’ camp
PHUKET: Flames ripped through a workers’ camp in Chalong this morning, completely destroying half of the houses and leaving the other half badly burned. Firefighters and trucks from three municipalities – Chalong, Rawai and Wichit – were called to the scene at about 10am, a firefighter told the Phuket Gazette. “It took us about 30 minutes to subdue the flames.…
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Phuket Police rule out foul play in death of American
PHUKET: Police today ruled out the possibility of criminal activity in the death of a 57-year-old American tourist whose body was found in his room at a Patong guesthouse on Monday. The body of New Jersey man John Randolph Grieg was discovered partially clothed and lying face down on the floor near his bed by PL House staff at about…
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Relief on its way for Saiyuan blackout
PHUKET: A utility pole that was damaged several days ago after being hit by a car gave up the ghost today, causing a blackout in Phuket areas south of Mangosteen Resort & Spa in Rawai. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel, Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority Operations Chief Yongyuth Podbutr told the Phuket Gazette today. “The blackout…
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Tesco Lotus steps up its ‘no plastic bag’ campaign in Phuket
PHUKET: After successfully removing plastic bags from one of its stores, Tesco Lotus plans to stop using them in two others, thereby reducing plastic bag use in Phuket by 10,000 bags per week. On May 16, Tesco Lotus branches in Rawai and Surin will stop using plastic bags, said Charkrit Direkwattanachai, Head of Public Affairs for the chain in Thailand.…
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Philippines says China appears to be building airstrip on disputed reef
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Philippines says China is building airstrip on disputed reef Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Philippine foreign ministry on Wednesday accused China of reclaiming land on a disputed reef in the South China Sea and said it appeared to be building an airstrip. Foreign ministry spokesman…
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